Harness cord



W. B. HARRIS HARNESS CORD Dec. 24, 1940.

AMA?

Filed Jan. 7, 1939 W5 IKA-'BFHE Snuetttor War-fen 75l/Ehud' Gum-neg Patented Dec. 24, 1940 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARNESS conn Warren B. Harris, Millbury, Mass. Application January 7, 1939, serial No. 249,794

i v claims.` (orar- 123) This invention relates to harness cords for looms, and more particularly to the construction of the end of the harness cord, which comprises an eyelet adapted to be connected to lother parts of a loom mechanism.

In my prior Patent No. 1,720,272 I have shown a harness cord comprising a textile cord of braided thread reinforced by a central iiexible wire core, and in which this wire core is looped around an eyelet and then twisted about itself and held in place by a metal ferrule. Constructions of this and other types present certain disadvantages owing particularly to the cost of manufacture and to the difficulty of providing a satisfactory eyelet and a suitable connection with the cord. Any breakage of the harness cord is likely to cause injury to the cloth being woven, and it is particularly desirable that thel eyelet be made of durable material which will give a long life of useful service and that it be secured to the cord so strongly that the connection cannot break away. i

The primary object of this invention is to overcome the problems in such prior art constructions and to provide a harness cord having the eyelet at its end lmade of suitable material which is highly resistant to wear and which is so fastened in place that it will not become loose or permit breakage of the cord at the junction.

A further object is to provide a very simple construction which may be readily and economi- `cally manufactured and which will give a long life of useful service. Further objects will be apparent in the following disclosure.

Referring to the drawing, I 'have there shown various embodiments of this invention wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a complete harness cord;

Fig. 2 is a view taken atright angles to Fig. 1, showing one end of the cord looking in the direction of the arrow 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of one end of the cord of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a further sectional view .on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are sectional views showing three modifications;

Fig. 8 is a sectional View taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of a further modification.

This harness cord is used in a loom to operate the harness frame that control the Warp thread, but it may be used in connection with other mechanisms employed in the loom. The cord comprises a flexible twisted Wire I0 covered over by and reinforcing an outer sheath I2 of braided thread orother suitable material, which covering serves particularly to prevent undue wear Vwire or other suitable material which is forged or otherwise shaped, as in a wire forming machine, to provide a loop 22 adapted to be connected to other linkage mechanism. This piece of Wire 20 is preferably `beni; to form a substantially circular arcuate portion to receive the connecting linkage, and to provide a wedge shaped nthroat within which the free end of the wire l0` is wedgedly secured. This is accomplished by bending the two ends 23 and 24 of the wire towards each other as illustrated. The end 23 is short, while the end 24 is longer and bent at right angles-to form a part 25 which serves to close the end .of the wedge or V-shaped throat. After `the fabric covering I2 over the end of the wire 'l0 has been stripped back, then the free end of the lwire is inserted into that wedge shaped throat and is bent over the laterally projecting arm 25, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The loose `and frayed ends of the wire IIJ will ordinarily spread apart and hold the wire firmly in place. These parts are,`h0wever, secured firmly and Apermanently in position by die casting a metal,

ysuchhasa suitable Babbitt alloy, in position around all of these projecting parts, as shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 4. 'Ihis `die cast metal 'not only embeds the frayed ends of the braided fabric ,12, but it also interlocks with and embeds the frayed ends of the wire strands I0 and passes into the eyelet 22 and thus holds all of these parts securely in place and prevents any relative movement thereof. This Babbitt metal also serves'to make the end of the cord more attractive and to cover up any loose vor frayed ends.

`A modification is shown in Fig. 5, in which the free end of the wire Iis bent around to form theloop` 30, and the outer end `of` the wire 32 is bent back into a position close to the main Cil portion of the wire. Then, when the metal 34 is die cast in place around the end of the braided cord I 2, as well as around the Wire portions I and 32, it will thus form an eyelet having the die cast metal itself entirely encasing and embedding the end of the wire I0. The die cast metal may cover the wire loop 3l) as illustrated, or it may leave the loop exposed. In this construction the amount of die cast metal within the eyelet may be proportioned as desired, but the main strength and Wear resistance of the eyelet will be found in the bent wire Ill.

If it is desired to further increase the wear resistance of the eyelet, I may use the construction shown in Fig. 6, wherein the wire l0 has its outer free end threaded into a steel or other metal sleeve 36 which is of sucient size and length as illustrated to form the eyelet when bent back upon itself. The wire may make a fairly snug fit within the sleeve and the wire itself has suiiicient resistance to bending so that it `will not drag easily out Aof the sleeve when subjected to a tensional force. But the metal 3S die cast around the wire Ill' and the two ends of the sleeve 36 will serve to hold all of the parts rigidly in position. If desired, the wire I0 may be threaded through the sleeve 36 far enough so that some of its outer frayed end will project into the Babbitt metal 38 and thus aid in 'locking the wire rigidly in position and preventing it pulling back through the sleeve.

In the construction shown in Figs. 7 and 8, I have used a separatefring shaped eyelet around which the Wire l0 is secured. This iron or steel ring 40 may be U-shaped in section and have its two ends open, so that the wire vIIJ may be passed around it within the U-shaped channel. 'Ihe outer free end of the wire I0 is positioned close to the main strand of the wire I0, so that when the metal 42 is die cast around these parts, as shown in Fig. 7, the wire I0 will be held rigidly in place. The die cast metal is also preferably positioned to cover the free ends of the eyelet and thus wedge into the V-shaped part and lock the ends of the eyelet in position. The eyelet is so shaped, as shown in the drawing, that a link connected to .the harness cord will impose its wear solely on the metal of the eyelet and will lnot touch the end of the cord l0. The casing of die cast metal may in each one of these modifications be permitted to cover the eyelet as well, but of course leave a central hole therethrough for attaching to the linkag, in which case the die cast metal will add somewhat to the wear resistance of the harness cord.

It will. now be appreciated that in each ofl these constructions I have provided an eyelet which is made of a wear resistant metal, and that this eyelet is connected directly to the reinforcing wire of the harness cord. Moreover, the sheath around that reinforcing wire, the wire itself and the eyelet are al1 rigidly connected together by means of molded metal that embeds the adjacent portions of the same. This makes a rigid structure providing a permanent connection between an eyelet and the harness cord. This die cast covering is located only on the end of the cord, and it does not interfere in any Way with the flexibility of the cord or its use in a loom. The cord itself presents a textile surface which will not wear materially the pulley over which it runs, and yet the main strength of the cord is found in the reinforcing wire therein. Owing to the use of the die cast metal, I provide matecept as the eyelet ultimately Wears out.

rial advantages over a separate ferrule or sleeve placed over the ends of the cord and crimped in place. Such a ferrule does not add much strength to the construction and is mainly used to cover up the loose ends of the various parts; whereas in the present case, the die cast metal that has been forced into position around all of the parts will aid materially in strengthening the device. There will, therefore, be no danger 0f the harness cord breaking at the connection ex- The connection between the eyelet and the cord will be a permanent one, otherwise.

For certain types of construction it is not necessary that the eyelet be connected directly to the wire l0, but it may be connected indirectly thereto by means of a molded substance, such as die cast metal. This is illustrated in Fig. 9, in which the reinforcing Wire strands Il) terminate short of the eyelet and the wire and the fabric covering I2 are connected to `an eyelet 44 solely by the die cast or molded material. The eyelet may be of various shapes which will serve to form a loop or a hooked end for connecting with other linkages, and which will interlock rigidly with the molded connecting portion. This may be accomplished by making the eyelet of a substantially U-shape having its two legs 45 bent at their ends 46 to form locking lugs or hooks each of which extends in a direction at an angle to the line of tensional force applied to the cord.' The substance 41 which is molded or die cast around the free end I!) of the wire, and preferably around the end of the fabric covering l2, ernbeds and unites firmly with thesev parts and it interlocks with the hooked ends 46 of the eyelet. It will be appreciated that the strands at the end of the wire l0 may be frayed out or tired in a knot or otherwise shaped or enlarged to form a very strong union with the molded substance 41. The molded substance 4l may surround the eyelet, and the latter may serve as a reinforcement therefor. If the eyelet is sufliciently wear resistant, it may be exposed and not coated with the molded substance at the outer point where it fastens to the cord adjustment end or a hook fastened into the harness frame of the loom. Numerous other modfications will now be apparent to one skilled in this art.

It will also be appreciated that the term eyelet as used herein is to be interpreted broadly as covering either a closed ring or a U-shaped or S-shaped member or any other suitable shape of metal or other wear resistant material which may be interlocked with the molded substance employed to unite the eyelet with the main body of the cord. This eyelet may, for example, be shaped as a hook with its embedded end serrated or screw threaded or provided with locking flanges or lugs, or it may have a bent or outwardly turned end or any other suitable shape which suitably interlocks with the molded body. Each of the modifications shown in the drawing may be suitably varied in the light of the above disclosure. For example, the wire ID shown in Fig. 4 may be wound around they cross bar 25 to aid further in locking the parts in place and the free end may be either wedged into the V-shaped slot of the eyelet or not, as desired. Likewise, the ring shaped eyelet, shown in Figs. 7 and 8, may have any shape or arrangement about which the wire end Il) may be secured.

ing of that wire.

The molded material exemplified above by a die cast metal may also` be any suitable molded substance, such as a resinoid which is capable of uniting the eyelet and the cord end.` Such a resinoid may be of the type of the Bakelite phenol-formaldehyde moldable substance or of the type of the Glyptal phthalic-glycerol resin, or of the type of the Tenite cellulose acetate resin, and various other substances will likewise be usable for this purpose. In every case, it is `desirable that this intermediate molded body connect an eyelet of suitable shape and form with the end of the Wire in the textile cord, and preferably also with the textile cover- Hence, in each of therabove described constructions, various suitable resinoids may be substituted for the die cast metal. This resinoid may be molded in accordance with standard practice. For example, a powdered Bakelite resinoid in a potentially reactive condition or Tenite cellulose acetate may be placed in the mold in suitable quantity after the eyelet and cord have been properly located and then subjected to heat and pressure in accordance with standard practice.

It will now be appreciated that various other modifications may be made in this construction within the scope of my invention, and that theabove description is meant to be illustrative of the general principles and certain specific applications of the invention without limiting the claims to the forms shown in the drawing. Each of the modifications illustrated comprises an eyelet, whether la separate member or formed by looping the end of the wire, and this eyelet is secured in place,` and made integral with the reinforcing wire, by a substance molded, as by die casting, over the parts to be interlocked. This molded casing preferably covers the end of thel sheath and thus connects the eyelet directly with the sheath I2 and so .adds further strength to the cord, aswell as serving to seal the parts and preventing the entrance of moisture to the wire. The claims are therefore to be interpreted as covering such equivalent constructions as embody vthese features.

2. A harness cord comprising a flexible Wire, a metallic terminal eyelet forming an end of the cord which is so shaped and arranged that it interlocks with the wire, and a molded body embedding the wire end and the adjacent portion of the eyelet which secures the parts rigidly positioned.

3. A harness cord comprising a covering of textile material, a central reinforcement wire therein and projecting from one end, an eyelet formed of the projecting wire end and a molded body which is intimately associated with and embeds the free end of the wire and seals the end of the covering and holds the parts rigidly in position.

4. A harness cord comprising a covering of textile fabric, a central reinforcement wire therein, a metal eyelet shaped to provide a Wear resistant member about which the reinforcing wire is looped and which solely receives the wear from a connecting link, and a molded body intimately associated with and embedding the outer end of the Wire which serves to hold the Wire secured in position around the eyelet.

5. A harness cord comprising a covering of textile fabric, a central flexible reinforcement Wire projecting from one end thereof, a metal eyelet having a Wedge shaped slot, the end 0f the Wire being located in the slot, and a molded body intimately associated with and embedding .a -portion of the eyelet and the end of the wire which secures the eyelet in position.

6. A harness cord comprising a covering of textile fabric, a central flexible reinforcement wire projecting from one end thereof, a metal eyelet shaped to provide a loop at one end for a linkage and a wedge shaped slot at the opposite end, the free end of the reinforcement wire being located in the wedge shaped slot, and a molded body embedding the ends of the strands of the textile fabric and the reinforcing wire and vinterlocking with the wedge shaped slotted end of the eyelet so as to hold the parts connected together.

, 7. A harness cord comprising a covering of textile fabric, a flexible reinforcement wire Within and projecting therefrom, a metal eyelet having two free ends shaped to form a V-shaped slot 4and provide a cross bar, the free end of the wire being wedged in the slot and 4passing over the bar and a molded body embedding the wire and interlocking with the cross bar of the eyelet which serves to secure the parts together.

WARREN B. HARRIS. 

